VF> Speaking of genital troubles,  I'm going to have an appointment with 
 VF> a urologist in the next while (follow up to surgery to remove 
 BA> Unless he is an avid cyclist he might be unduly 
 BA> alarmist after having read the popular press. One thing that IS 
No, the physician in question is a very sensible individual, and one of the 
two medical professionals I have met in my life that I actually respect. The 
other is my chiropractor, and I wish there were more GP's like her, because 
there's far too few.
 BA> gone it is reversible. Just stop riding for a while. It is a rare 
cyclist 
 BA> who does suffer from the problem. At the risk of sounding too "punny," 
 BA> just keep riding and have a ball. 
Gel Pack. I had one, it got swiped. I went for 80+ km yesterday (and man, did 
I feel it  in the legs - my strength has increased with the short hard dash 
to work and back that I've been doing, but I've lost a ton of endurance) and 
without the gel pack. I felt it, somewhat, but nothing uncomfy. I guess its a 
matter of my weight being dynamic (see also: shedding excess blubber) and my 
body becoming more used to cycling. I did, however, get enough sensation of 
discomfort on the tush to warrant re-acquiring a gel pack next payday.
 BA> Since five years is the usual timeframe to define a cure from cancer, 
all 
 BA> my heartiest congratulations to you and I am glad that that load is now 
 BA> off your mind. 
Yep, five years in february. I've got to go and get a last couple of tests, 
just to be sure. I stopped getting them because of how much radiation from 
cat scans and the like the quacks at the clinic were insisting I had to 
swallow, but I don't mind one now just to be sure. Hopefully forever. :)
--- Maximus/2 3.01
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** A related thread FOLLOWS this message.

FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 150 BIKE NET      Ref: EEIG2405 Date: 10/14/97
From: DALE KRIMMER                                          Time: 12:40pm
\/To: VERN FAULKNER                                       (Read 2 times)
Subj: R: Seat shapes

VF> VF> Speaking of genital troubles,  I'm going to have an appointment with
  > VF> a urologist in the next while (follow up to surgery to remove
  > BA> Unless he is an avid cyclist he might be unduly
  > BA> alarmist after having read the popular press. One thing that IS
  >No, the physician in question is a very sensible individual, and one of the
  >two medical professionals I have met in my life that I actually respect. The
  >other is my chiropractor, and I wish there were more GP's like her, because
  >there's far too few.
  > BA> gone it is reversible. Just stop riding for a while. It is a rare
  >cyclist
  > BA> who does suffer from the problem. At the risk of sounding too "punny,"
  > BA> just keep riding and have a ball.
  >Gel Pack. I had one, it got swiped. I went for 80+ km yesterday (and man, di
  >I feel it  in the legs - my strength has increased with the short hard dash
  >to work and back that I've been doing, but I've lost a ton of endurance) and
  >without the gel pack. I felt it, somewhat, but nothing uncomfy. I guess its 
  >matter of my weight being dynamic (see also: shedding excess blubber) and my
  >body becoming more used to cycling. I did, however, get enough sensation of
  >discomfort on the tush to warrant re-acquiring a gel pack next payday.
  > BA> Since five years is the usual timeframe to define a cure from cancer,
  >all
  > BA> my heartiest congratulations to you and I am glad that that load is now
  > BA> off your mind.
  >Yep, five years in february. I've got to go and get a last couple of tests,
  >just to be sure. I stopped getting them because of how much radiation from
  >cat scans and the like the quacks at the clinic were insisting I had to
  >swallow, but I don't mind one now just to be sure. Hopefully forever. :)
  >--- Maximus/2 3.01

I, too went the route of trying the "comfort" systems.  The original
saddle on my raleigh was built for racing - very hard and narrow.  Tried
the spenco (gel) pad first - it was much better than without, but the
gel did tend to move to the extremities, leaving not much where the
pressure was the greatest.  Talked to the bike shop owner, and he
recommended a setup called the hydroseat.  That was better yet, a liquid
filled bladder that went under a leather cover.  They also told me at
the time that "all the racers use a Brooks leather saddle,"  just a slab
of leather suspended between a u-shaped nosepiece and a rear rail with a
tension adjusting screw on the front piece.  They also said that it
would take about 1000 miles on the seat before its broken in to your
anatomy, but after that most people just move the seat from bike to
bike, because it is so comfortable.  I have one, for the last 15 years
or so, just moved it to my new Giant carbon fiber road bike, and they
were right! I believe you can still get them from Performance, but they
are quite pricey (starting at about $80, I think) The only problem I
have ever had with the saddle is from the dye coming off on a hot day
when you tend to sweat.  Brooks also makes a natural color one (mine's
black) to solve that problem, but I just keep one of the $3 lycra covers
on it.  Good luck, maybe some of the riders on this echo who do lots of
miles can give their comments regarding the Brooks.
                                             ---Dale
---
 þ QMPro 1.0 12-3333 þ Bad command or file name. Go stand in the corner.

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>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> LAST Message In Thread <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 150 BIKE NET      Ref: EEI00003 Date: 10/12/97
From: VERN FAULKNER                                         Time: 01:06pm
\/To: JOHN THOMPSON                                       (Read 2 times)
Subj: Mcdonalds kills more than

 JT> I think part of the problem is that you seem to think 
 JT> bicycle helmets are intended as a panacea to end all 
 JT> head injuries.  They are not.  Bicycle helmets are 
No, everyone ELSE seems to think they're some miracle preventative, when in 
fact, they only offer significant protection in a handful of every thousand 
serious bike crashes. Usually resulting in a cripple as opposed to a death, 
resulting in *INCREASED* medical costs. 
And that's the FACT, man. 
Do you want to go into the physics of brain damage and deceleration? 300 
m/s^2 is what the brain can handle in terms of deceleration before it gets 
damaged. 
 JT> situations have an inexpensive and effective safety 
 JT> measure like this available.  Bicycling does.  Let's 
 JT> use it.
Okay, you gonna pay my medical bills resulting from injury and lost 
productivity from using a helmet? Got a headache yesterday, until I got 
off-road, and took the helmet OFF. I got it again as soon as I hit the road - 
the headache, that is, with all resultant loss of reaction time, perception, 
and other factors associated with headache discomfort. 
Plus the fact that I can't hear at high speed because of the wind noise 
generated by the helmet.
See, you reactionary left-wing protect-the-stupid types forget one small 
thing: sometimes we're informed, rational, consenting adults with a 
reasonable argument to counter your power-freak assumptions of our naivete.
I have had five situations this year that I would call "near accidents."
Two were as a result of me pushing the bike further than I should have, when 
I knew the risks of doing so -and I was the only one in danger (liable to go 
for a tumble into the mud, if that - and note I didn't, which means I suppose 
I wasn't pushign the envelope too far.) The other three? Directly related to 
my use of a helmet - and would NOT have happened if I had NOT been wearing 
the stupid (*#(*#$ thing. One time, I got a stinging insect *trapped* under 
the helmet... and I'll let your left-wing control-freak imagination try and 
legislate a large stinging insect from not stinging when it feels like 
panicking. It won't work. 
And in that case, the helmet didn't protect me - it endangered me.
In two other cases, the helmet caught in some foliage, which wouldn't have 
happened if the helmet wasn't there in the first place. One time, I was 
nearly ripped off the bike by a slender tendril from a treebranch getting 
caught in my chinstrap.
One year of wearing a helmet:
Injuries prevented: 0.                  Injuries caused: 1 (snapped neck) 
Injuries nearly prevented: 0.           Injuries nearly caused: 3.  
Incidents of suffering prevented: 0.    Incidents of suffering caused: 25 
                                                (or more due to headaches.)
But of course, personal fact, attribution, and other relevent data don't mix 
with your pre-concieved control-freak statistics, so you'll likely ignore 
everything I say - as you clearly have before, because it doesn't sit well 
with the simplistic control-freak view of the world that has caused me to 
have to wear the (&$*&*$&(*& thing when situations don't warrant it.
--- Maximus/2 3.01
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